Adoration of the Christchild

This Adoration of the Christ Child by Luca Signorelli, around 1487, depicts the newborn Jesus worshipped by the Virgin and attendant figures. Signorelli's treatment of the Nativity emphasizes the solid, volumetric figures that define his distinctive approach to the human form Luca Signorelli's mastery of the male nude in violent action directly preceded and influenced Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling, earning him an enduring place in Renaissance art history.

The figures are arranged around the infant Christ with Signorelli's characteristic structural clarity. The solid, muscular bodies are modeled with the sculptural precision that distinguished him among Umbrian and Tuscan painters.